In Strasbourg, during the current session of the European Parliament, a debate took place on foreign interference and hybrid attacks, as well as the need to strengthen the EU’s resilience and internal security. PiS MEPs Beata Szydło and Patryk Jaki spoke during the discussion.
Beata Szydło said: “If we’re talking today about disinformation and provocations, then I’m waiting for someone to finally apologize to the Polish intelligence services, which arrested the Russian spy Gonzalez.” She recalled the accusations leveled at the Polish security services at the time, namely that “the Poles are detaining and mistreating an innocent journalist.”
“The Gonzalez case illustrates a more complex situation when it comes to disinformation and Russian influence in the European Union and individual countries,” she stated. The Polish MEP recalled that Gonzalez was a favorite of many liberal-left circles in Poland. “And when he was detained, accusations immediately surfaced that an innocent journalist—a guru to many of these elites—had been wrongfully detained. However, when he landed in Moscow and was welcomed by Putin, those voices fell silent, and no one apologized to the security services,” said the former head of the Polish government, pointing out that this proves that it is not only the digital space that is crucial, but also focusing on what is happening among the liberal-left elites and the media, which impose certain standards and narratives on public opinion.
Patryk Jaki stated: “You’re talking today about hybrid threats to our borders, yet you yourselves are the greatest threat to the European Union’s borders.” He recalled the open-door policy, which “irretrievably destroyed the peaceful and secure lives of Europeans.” “Then, when Poland was defending itself against a hybrid attack by Putin and Lukashenko, instead of defending the Union’s borders, you attacked those who were defending them,” — Jaki noted, recalling that this was one of the reasons Poland was subject to sanctions. He said that there had been many exhibitions, debates, and speeches in the European Parliament critical of the defense of the EU’s borders. “And by doing so, you encouraged Putin to launch further attacks, and today we can’t get out of this mess,” Patryk Jaki believes. Furthermore, the MEP recalled that the head of Frontex, who wanted to help Poland and defend the borders, was also dismissed “because he refused to admit certain left-wing ideologues into his institution.” He also brought up the case of Paweł Rubcow, whom Putin personally welcomed during an agent exchange on the tarmac of his airport. “So it is none other than you who created the problem that you are now so heroically fighting. So if I see a threat anywhere, it’s in your short-sightedness, stupidity, and ideological blindness,” he stated.
